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Order of the Black Foot

Chapter 11: Clash of Titans

For TeryxC

By Draconicon

The Theocracy with their brainwashing devices...Joan with her attack...towns scrambled...

Draconicon leaned over the map table, shaking his head as he looked over the country he was trying to take back from the hands that had stolen it. The black dragon shuffled the pieces over the map, moving paladin forces towards their newest positions, and seeing what, if anything, could be done with his own pieces.

Unfortunately, every time that he started moving things around, he saw the flaws in the plan. Numbers that had to be diverted to keep an eye on...her. Numbers that had to keep hold of what they already had. Numbers, numbers, numbers, all of them adding up to one big problem.

He didn't have enough.

Pushing the pieces back to their original position, Draconicon looked at the map again, this time towards a series of hills near the center of the Theocracy. Mostly depopulated, save for the crossroads of the highways, it wasn't marked with any large numbers of troops, nor did he have a hidden cell of followers there. No, that space was reserved for one thing, and one thing only.

He reached out, picking up the amethyst figurine from the hills. It used to be blue, but since the possession, it had turned. And he could feel her through it rather than Teryx.

For that matter, she could feel him, as well. Just touching it brought Joan to mind, and she pressed at him, magical and mental claws raking at the defenses he'd forced over his mind ever since she'd taken over his agent. He heard her frustrated screams in his head, her rage, her desperation, and he waited her out.

When the slicing and the cutting were done, he opened a hole in his mind, and spoke to her.

This isn't what we need to be doing now, Joan.

It's what we should have been doing from the start. If we can take magic from mages, use them as a power source -

That's not what I'm doing, and you know it.

It's what you CAN do, and it's what would win this war!

At what cost?

She snorted at the other end of the connection. It hadn't been a debate so much as an insistence on her part and silence on his. Draconicon knew the exact level of power it would take to destroy the Church. He knew what it would take to flatten their Citadel and destroy their Inquisitors...and he knew that he had it.

And he knew that he didn't dare use it. Not on his own.

He set the piece down, but Joan kept talking.

I'll do what you won't. I've already started. You've seen it.

...Yes.

The craters of their barracks, the destruction of their forces where I find them. It's glorious. It's...it's perfect.

And the other people around them?

It's not my fault when it happens! They get in the way.

Just like I'm about to be in your way.

...Draconicon, you're not...

The dragon sighed, turning away from the table.

I'm coming for you, Joan. I'm not going to allow this to continue.

I warn you. I'm not going to hold back. I finally have a body again, and I'm not letting anyone get in the way of burning through the Church. Like they burned through me.

You stole a body. And more to the point, you're not helping anyone. You're a ghost, a spirit. You should have gone away a long time ago.

Then you should have let me die.

He froze in place, the dragon's fingers clutching at the side of the table. She pressed at him, ghostly claws at the hole he'd opened in his mind to speak to her.

If you thought that I should have gone away, you should have let me die. Instead, you kept me alive. I thank you, for that. It let me see what has to be done. And what you won't do, I will.

Slamming shut that hole - and not at all regretting the screams that came with it - Draconicon left the tent. His soldiers were milling around, and his officers were already outside of the tent, looking up at him. He imagined that they'd been waiting for orders ever since he'd gone inside to think.

Havok, insane, but fast and ruthless, capable of fighting to the bitter end as long as it meant that he brought some of the Church down with him. The white dragon was as hard and angry as Joan, but Draconicon had hopes that he might recover.

Hanna, the lynx of the north. She'd been with him since the beginning, and she bore her mark between her breasts with pride. No matter the worries he had about her people, he had utter faith in her.

Dresnath, another dragon that he'd pulled in to join him. The spellsword was the closest thing to a powerful mage he had, now that Teryx was gone and the others were all off on assignments. The rest of them were a pool in the camp that couldn't be disturbed, offering their power to those that had to draw on it. The dragon's sword, however, would come in handy.

The black dragon looked over the three of them, and shook his head.

"I'm going after Joan."

Havok nodded, and Hanna flicked a dagger from her belt before putting it back. Dresnath cocked his head to the side.

"And what of the strategy, sir?" the dragon asked.

"We're going to keep to it, if we can, but we have to eliminate this variable first."

"And by eliminate?"

He looked at Havok. The white dragon looked more than ready with his blades, but...Draconicon shook his head.

"Joan. Not Teryx."

"That might be harder than it sounds, Master," Hanna muttered. "He seems...perfectly possessed."

"That's why we have to do this right. And why I'm doing this myself."

All three of them stared at him, and for good reason. It had been some time since he'd left the camp for any big action. The last thing he'd done had been to recruit Dresnath, and before that, he'd gone to get Teryx. The last major action he'd done in the field had been the raising of several fortresses along the border, and before that...

Well, before that, he hadn't had the Order on his side. Now...

The black dragon closed his eyes, and reached out. It was easy to find the pool of magic that was bound to him. A glittering source of light just out of the corner of his eye, or so it felt. It was warm, rippling, and chaotic as hell, swelling and shrinking by turns, and always straining to be bigger than it was. Just acknowledging that it was there filled him with a swell of energy. As he pulled at it, syphoning it into him, the energy...filled him.

Using it was not a matter of taking enough energy for the task, but resisting the temptation to take too much. He restricted the amount for everyone else, allowing nobody to take more than three to five times their own magical power from someone else. He, on the other hand, could take as much as he liked. Draconicon pulled at it, feeling the energy settling in beneath his scales, feeling like they were being stretched out around his frame to accommodate the swelling energy. Ten times, twenty times his own strength, and he could feel his bones almost vibrating with the energy around them.

Let it settle, let it settle. This will be sufficient, to start.

He opened his eyes, the world awash with magical auras. Dresnath's bright yellow flames, the spellsword touch. Hanna's mark, a dark fire on her chest. Havok's magic-touched life, remnants, faded pieces that clung to him.

It was all there, and all so obvious to him...

Draconicon extended his hand, and a lash of black fire shot out with a crack. It circled them, swallowed them, and they were gone.

#

Joan was already on the hills when they arrived, standing on top of one barely fifty feet away. It was Teryx's body that faced them, of course, the two-toned rain dragon looking as much like himself as ever...except to his eyes.

To him, there was the silhouette of a mouse superimposed over the blue dragon, her eyes glimmering with rage and hate. She was there...and she wasn't letting go. Draconicon slowly shook his head.

"Fan out," he whispered. "Don't attack...but keep an eye out for anything that comes. I doubt we'll be alone for long."

His officers did as they were told, spreading out through the hills as he faced down his opponent. Teryx's body smirked at him, and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry for what's happened to you, Teryx. This wasn't part of the plan."

"He's not here for you to talk to, Draconicon. I am."

"You're in his body. But I know he can hear me. Your possession can't shut him away entirely. Whatever he's seen, whatever you've made him do, he will remember. And to him, I apologize for that. I'm here to get him back."

"You won't. I'm as strong as you are."

"I think it's time that we put that to the test."

The magic within begged to be released, so he did. With a sweep of his hand, black fire raged from his palm, and it cut through the hills before them. The one he stood on collapsed like it had been torn away from underneath, and Joan's rippled and hazed for a few seconds before it was destroyed in similar fashion.

He floated on the empty space that was left, and after a moment, so did she, Teryx's feet burning to ashes before they were restored by the magic she was drawing on.

She will regenerate from anything that's not an immediate knock-out, he thought to himself. She'll keep healing until there's nothing left. I can't afford to hold back.

Despite the difficulty, he pulled at the magic again. His heart slowed as the pressure came with it. Thirty times, forty times his own power, swelling it inside of him, his chest feeling stuffed and full. Yet, at the same time, everything became so...effortless.

Teleport, flicker, darting in. She was there, then she wasn't. Behind him? Yes, flicker away, fire in hand as she came in with ice, melting it as she tried to stab him with the spike.

They stared at each other, black dragon and blue dragon, white eyes and golden eyes.

Then they parted again, floating over the ground as the black fire continued to spread, eating away at the hills, flattening them as it went.

Joan floated higher, and he followed her, his magic making the flight easier than it would have been using his wings. He barely noticed the outflow of magic, barely noticed using it in the slightest. There was so much, so much power at his disposal that if he didn't use it, he'd go crazy. If he didn't use it, he'd explode.

He flung out his hands, releasing ball after ball of black fire at the fleeing rain dragon. They slammed against shields, against barriers. They exploded on summoned rocks, blasting them to smithereens before the shards were flung back at him.

Draconicon blocked them, bringing up blasts of air that threw them to the side before swinging out with fire and acid, melting them before they could reach him.

All of the fragments fell to the ground below, and he spared a glance for the landscape. What hadn't been consumed by the fire was getting swallowed up by the melting, fiery pieces of debris that fell from their battle. It was like a nightmare below them, the land looking like something from hell.

Suddenly, Joan was upon him, and he was knocked back by a sudden punch to the chest. His breath was knocked out of him, and he went flying backwards hundreds of feet.

He stopped himself, looking up as the rain dragon gestured towards the sky. The dragon felt it, felt the magic spinning towards the clouds.

She's using Teryx's own connection...clever.

Once more, he gathered his magic, sweeping his hands towards the ground with as much speed and force as he could muster. Black lines of power streaked towards the ground, connecting him to it as Joan flung lightning towards the clouds, the sky darkening quickly until -

BOOM!

The first lightning bolt shot down at him. Draconicon barely finished his own spell in time, and the bolt was diverted to one of the black lines around him. It followed the line straight to the ground, smashing into the earth without harm to him.

Another bolt, and another came, each one faster than the last. He kept throwing down lines of power, making the bolts get attracted to his magic rather than towards him. They were coming fast and furious, and he knew that any of them could burn through him and leave him a shattered mess of his former self.

"What's the matter, Draconicon? I thought that you were going to put me to the test!"

"I'm not the one with an indestructible body, here."

Nor are you the one with people that he has to watch out for, he thought. He could sense where the three officers were in the field below, outside of the zone of destruction, but he couldn't go as hard as he wanted. Not if he wanted to keep them alive. Nor could he leave this little cage he'd made for himself without becoming a target for the lightning proper. The bolts were flying at him constantly, and only the grounding lines kept him from being zapped.

And they were consuming power...leaving him needing more.

I don't like this...I really don't...

Nevertheless, he forced himself to open up for more. More power, more of the magic. His body ached as he felt like he swelled, his head feeling like it was on top of a balloon filled to bursting with hot air. Eighty times his own power, leaving him shaking, dripping, oozing magic from every pore. He could see it. Feel it.

The world felt like it was slower around him, like it was breaking down in a way. The lightning came in a measured pace, moving as fast as a person might run to his eyes. Draconicon shook his head, and teleported.

He was behind Joan, and she was slowly turning Teryx's body to meet him. A flash of light, and she was flying downwards, blasted away by a spell. He followed after, a burst of fire and electricity in his fists as he punched the rain dragon's head, punched him again, and again, trying to break down that healing factor.

No matter the speed difference, it wasn't working. Joan healed too fast, and now, there was a lightning bolt behind him.

Draconicon teleported again, the lightning bolt shooting past where he'd been and slamming into the rain dragon's body. It carried him down towards the ground, smashing him through the black fire and the acid and the fire. Another bolt, and then another followed, until Draconicon threw his hands towards the sky with a few bolts of his own.

Hoping that the conflicting magics would halt the storm, at least for a while, he looked down at the ground. The crater that had been created by the other dragon's impact in the ground was free of fire and acid, and Joan was already getting to her feet. She looked up at him through Teryx's eyes, and smirked.

"Is that all you have?"

"Not by a long shot."

"Show me. SHOW ME! Or better yet, let me show you!"

He stared as the other dragon raised his hands, Joan pulling on more magic than he thought Teryx could handle as she lifted the earth beneath her. She pulled at it, dragging rock and grass, fire and earth into the air. She stood on it like a rising pedestal, cackling as she forced it upwards. The sides of it reshaped itself, becoming jagged like broken swords, like pieces that were jammed together.

In seconds, she had created a fortress of her own, one that loomed over the entire landscape, walled with broken and sharpened pieces of rock and black stone, each piece capable of slicing an armored man apart.

This is...impossible...

It would have taken generations of normal people to build that, and Draconicon slowly shook his head at the sight of it. Joan looked down at him through Teryx's golden eyes, smirking.

"This is the power you could have been using, Draconicon! This is the power that we have to use against them. And now, I have bettered it."

"How?"

"The paladins might not have magic, but they have life!"

A reversal of the life-binding spell. She takes it from them, and uses it to...despicable...

As was her fortress. There was nothing to it that was worth keeping. The black dragon shook his head.

"You can't do this, Joan. This will destroy everything. Us...the people...even the world, if we're not careful."

"You think I care?!"

The rain dragon flung his hand out to the side, aiming towards a mountain at the border of the plains. Draconicon saw the building spell, and his eyes went wide. He lifted his hand, pointing out that way at the same time, and launched a black spell of his own at the same time that Joan released her own, white spell.

Destruction met destruction over four miles away, though the explosion was visible for many miles more than that. The world warped as white and black met, cascading in a tear through the air. Clouds gathered above it, slowly pulled down towards it by the force of the explosion, and earth was pulled towards it from the ground. Everything pulled towards the center of the destruction, for a solid minute.

When it faded, Draconicon heaved a sigh of relief. The landscape...was not destroyed, though it was damaged. If that spell had reached the mountain, it could have flattened it, obliterated it, and released all the destruction that was held inside.

"You've lost your mind, Joan. Whatever used to be you, in there, no longer exists."

"Hmmph. And you've lost the fire. You've lost the need to destroy them. What does it matter if some people die? The Church has to be destroyed!"

"No. You do..."

Master.

It was Hanna. The lynx must have seen something. He tilted his head.

There are paladins coming from the southern roads. Hundreds of them. I don't think me and Havok can handle them all ourselves.

He could, he knew. It would be a matter of a simple gesture, sweeping them away with a single spell...but he was loathe to do it. Already, the temptation was growing to sweep this away. The power that he had in him, the power that threatened to tear him apart of he took in much more, was far beyond any mage. It approached the power of legendary gods, to warp the land and destroy and create anything that he wished.

If he gave in, where would he stop?

At the same time, he couldn't give Joan the chance to take in that much more power. He looked at the rain dragon, and slowly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Teryx. I'm sorry."

"He can't hear you!"

"Yes, he can. Otherwise, you wouldn't be bothered. I'll be back."

But first, he had something to do. With a roar of frustration, the black dragon flung a burst of black fire towards the ground again. Not an impact, nor a force of destruction...but a means of change.

As soon as it hit the ground, the world began to shake. Up and down, back and forth. Cracks formed and grew along the ground, spreading towards the base of her fortress. Joan started to wobble, but before she could fly away, the dragon gestured towards the sky.

"You have power. I...have my studies."

It took most of what he had left, but he warped the spell in the storm clouds above them, shifting the target from him, to Joan.

He turned, flying away as the fortress was ripped apart from below, and the rain dragon was pummeled by lightning from above. There'd be no way that either of them could get out of that for a while, even with the regeneration that they had.

Set up a wall, gather the officers, head home, he thought. If he could stop the paladin forward advance, they'd know not to get close to Joan. And then...

Well, he'd still have to figure it out, after that.

The End